


Failing Up Still Feels Bad

by TiberiusBoop (Aubrace)



Series: You Can Pick Your Friends and You Can Pick Your Nose, But You Can't Wipe Your Friends on the Furniture [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Date, High School, M/M, Werewolves, bowling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:01:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24414781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aubrace/pseuds/TiberiusBoop
Summary: Noel and Primo have their first date at the local lanes and it kind of sucks.
Relationships: Noel Hirsch/Cyllian Primo
Series: You Can Pick Your Friends and You Can Pick Your Nose, But You Can't Wipe Your Friends on the Furniture [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1763119
Kudos: 1





	Failing Up Still Feels Bad

Noel could hear the rumbling engine of Primo's sexy sports car as he approached the house. The twin beams of his headlights appeared and disappeared between the trees until he rounded the curve of the driveway and they shone directly onto the boy sitting on the front porch. He heard the deep click of the doors unlocking and got up, dusting off the back of his jeans absently as he approached the car. 

Primo had some new music playing when Noel got in, with a peppier beat and more synthesized sounds. It was loud, and Primo turned it down a few notches as Noel pulled his seatbelt around and clicked it in place. 

"Hi," he said in an expectant tone. Noel was quickly coming to realize that Primo could make just about anything sound mean. He had the same condition with his tone as Noel did with his face. 

"Hi," he responded, smiling a bit. Primo looked at him, softened, and smiled back.

Wow. Noel didn't think he had ever seen Primo smile before. No, he had, just not directed at him. He had seen him laughing at a joke one of his dumb jock friends told. He had seen him smirking at a girl he had wrapped around his finger. But he had never seen that soft little smile that he just allowed Noel to glimpse. As quickly as it was there it was gone again and Primo was throwing the car back into gear to drive off. The tires spun in the dirt for a moment before they caught and Noel clutched the handle over the door like a lifeline while they sped off down the driveway and back toward town.

During the ride down the dark, lonely road through the woods, the only sound within the car was the music and both their heartbeats. Primo's was even, running as steady as the growling car engine. Noel's was quick and nervous. He purposefully stilled his hands from where they tapped anxiously on his knees. 

"So," he started, when the quiet between them became too much for him to bear. "Bowling?"

"Mmhmm." Primo slowed to take a turn, eyes on the road. 

"Do you...like bowling?" Noel asked. 

Primo glanced at him. "Sure. Do you?" he asked.

"Uh, yeah, I guess. I haven't been since I was like ten, though." Primo made a noise of confirmation but said nothing more. Noel fell silent as well. 

The rest of the ride was spent the same way. Every once in a while Primo would switch the song. Noel didn't know what to talk about so he didn't try to start any more conversations. Luckily Restler was a small town, and they were on the other side of it and coming up on the Bowl-A-Rama just as Noel was beginning to think that this was a huge mistake. 

Primo parked and both boys climbed out of the car. The giant Bowl-A-Rama sign shone in neon above them, casting the entire parking lot in red, green, yellow, and blue. On either side of it there was a set of lights that animated a blue bowling ball crashing into three white pins. Noel could hear the electrified chemicals buzzing inside their tubes as they passed under the sign. 

The inside was just like every bowling alley in America: gaudily patterned carpet, an ancient but still fun and functioning arcade room, the "'Rama Restaurant" that served anything that could be fried and covered in cheese sauce. Noel's stomach growled when he smelled the hot dogs rotating slowly inside the hotbox. Loud music played over the speakers, some boy band classics from when they were preteens. Primo led the way to the central counter to rent their shoes. Noel waited in line behind him and looked around, catching sight of Overly and Legros already sitting at a lane with two of their teammates whose names Noel didn't know and two girls he assumed were someone's dates.

Noel's attention was yanked back to Primo when he grabbed onto his sleeve and pulled him forward. "What's your shoe size?" he asked. 

"Oh -- uh, right, nine?" He pulled out his wallet and promptly dropped it on the counter when Primo smacked his hand.

"I'm paying." Before Noel could object Primo was handing over a plastic card to the glassy-eyed cashier. He swiped it and handed it back before turning to pick out the colorful pairs of shoes for each of them. Primo handed Noel his shoes and led the way toward their lane.

As they walked toward them, Overly pulled one of the girls into his lap and buried his face in her neck, making her squeal and kick playfully while everyone else laughed. Noel supposed they were attached. "Your friends don't care that I'm...you know. A guy?" he asked hesitantly. Primo raised an eyebrow at him.

"Why would they?" His tone was derisive enough that Noel decided not to pursue the subject anymore. He just assumed that if Overly and Legros would make fun of someone for being a nerd they might also make fun of someone for being gay. Or bi. Or whatever Primo was, or whatever Noel himself was. He wondered if Primo was sure of himself or if he had questions too. 

Primo's friends threw loud greetings and broad waves at him as they reached them. Seth Legros at least offered a wave to Noel, but otherwise he escaped acknowledgement. He and Primo sat next to each other to change their shoes. 

"Took you long enough to get here," Overly commented, typing his name into the score computer as "Jules". The girl he had been teasing leaned her entire body against his side as she typed her name in -- Rhea. She was in his history class, he remembered now, with Primo. He had never noticed them talking. Maybe Rhea and Overly were a new development.

"Don't blame me, Hirsch lives out in the middle of fucking nowhere," Primo complained back, yanking on his shoelaces to tighten them. He stood and went to the computer and input his and Noel's last names. He wondered if Primo called the girls he dated by their last names too. Legros and Primo's other friends input their names as well and Overly, as first in line, stood to pick out his bowling ball and start the game off. 

Overly was a big dude, on the offensive line on the varsity team. Primo, by contrast, was the team's quarterback, tall and lithe, with long legs that carried him quickly around the field. Primo was the brains of the team, while Overly was one member of the collective brawn. He picked his bowling ball from the dispenser and flung it down the lane. The speed at which it traveled offered it no time to curve in the slightest and it hit the pins dead-on. They exploded away from the ball and the scoreboard flashed a huge X across the screen denoting Overly's obvious strike. Rhea was next and Overly stepped up behind her -- right behind her -- to help her aim. Noel chose that moment to look at Primo instead. 

"So, do you come here often?" he joked. Primo didn't laugh. He didn't even crack a smile. 

"The team always comes here after we win a game," he said, sitting back and crossing his arms over his chest. "And since there's nothing else to do in this shitty town, me and the guys make it over every couple of weeks, too. Good first date spot."

Rhea didn't manage a strike in her first throw but she knocked down the remaining pins the second go-around, earning her butt a good squeeze from Overly. 

"You're all going to smoke me," Noel said, looking up at the scoreboard. 

"It's whatever," Primo responded. "Bowling isn't about being good. I mean, not this kind of bowling. If you go every week you get better though." 

"Kind of like putt-putt, I guess," Noel murmured, wincing as another football player flung his bowling ball down the lane and smashing into the pins. Surely they could do just as well without hurling the bowling ball like they were trying to demolish the whole alley. He stuck a finger in his ear and his eyes drifted over to the small, closed-in arcade next to the snack stall. All the walls were carpeted like the roller rink next door and he was sure the noise would be tolerable in there. Hopefully they could take a break in there at some point. 

"I'm shit at putt-putt," Primo said. "Bad at golf too, actually."

"I've never played." Was this what their smalltalk was going to consist of? Sports? "Not that I've played many sports."

"My parents tested me out on like everything," Primo said. He uncrossed his arms and slung them over the backs of the chairs on either of his sides, including the one that Noel was sitting in. They weren't touching, but it felt like a step to Noel. 

"Were you best at football?" Noel asked. 

Primo snorted. "No. Not at first. I was good at baseball. Pitching. And archery. Yeah, I know." He smirked at Noel's surprised expression. "Accuracy," he said, aiming a finger gun straight out in front of him. "Guess it's what makes me good at bowling and throwing the football, too. If I can practice enough I can perfect the technique and do it right every time."

"That's pretty cool," Noel said honestly. He never really thought about sports like that -- the technique and strategy involved. It wasn't mindless, he knew that, but most of the players he was acquainted with weren't exactly the brains behind the plays and training. As the quarterback, though, Primo ran plays practically alongside the coach. He was the best of both worlds: athletic and smart. 

How did it take me this long to figure out how gay I am? Noel mentally rolled his eyes at himself. All he had to do was look at Primo languidly stretched out in his seat and he practically started to salivate. 

"I really don't like football much," Primo continued after a moment, his voice quieter. Noel heard him all the same. "But I was good enough to make the team and it's gonna get me the most scholarships so that was what my parents made me focus on."

Noel cocked his head to the side. "What would you have done instead?"

Primo shrugged. "Well, Restler High doesn't exactly have an archery team. I don't know. Baseball was pretty fun. Tennis, too."

"I like tennis," Noel said. They played it in Gym and Noel found surprising satisfaction in it. The court was small enough that he couldn't get too much speed going when he ran and the racket did most of the work so he didn't have to worry about overpowering his swings. And the constant motion and switching directions actually tired him out pretty well compared to other sports that necessitated only a steady jog or long pauses between bursts of action. Primo gave him a look of some surprise which Noel supposed was warranted. He was the furthest one could get from being an athlete. All he was missing was a pair of oversized glasses to complete the picture. 

Primo looked like he was about to say something but then Legros nailed a strike and shouted in triumph, punching his fist in the air. 

"My turn," Primo said, standing. Disappointed, Noel watched him walk up to the lane to pick his ball. Now that he was looking for it Noel could see Primo thinking his way through his stance and movements. He stepped up to the line and set himself up, looked down the lane and aimed. He drew the ball up in front of him, preparing like a dancer about to pirouette. Then he drew back just like he would pull back the string of a bow. Stepping into it, he swung his arm and released the ball at precisely the right moment. Rather than dropping roughly onto the wood, the ball came in for a graceful landing and seemed almost to glide along the lane. It curved slightly to hit the front pins at an angle and sent them bouncing into the rest for Primo's first strike of the game. Noel never thought he would think bowling could be so graceful. 

Unfortunately, with Primo's strike it was now Noel's turn. All eyes turned to him and Primo gestured for him to step up. Noel unfolded from his seat and walked over. "Too bad there's not a school bowling team," he joked as Primo passed him on the way to their seats. 

"Oh, shit, we forgot to put the bumpers on for him," Legros said as Noel walked up to the ball dispenser. 

"Can he even lift the ball?" someone else said. 

"Maybe we should get him a kid's ball," Overly remarked. Noel huffed and grabbed a ball from the dispenser, imagining the surprise that he did so with ease. He knew just how scrawny he looked next to these football players, and that it was totally incongruous with his true superhuman strength. He could probably throw a bowling ball farther than Overly could pitch a baseball, but he couldn't exactly let any of these people know the extent of his strength. He took up his place at the top of the lane and aimed, but he didn't really know what he was doing and, predictably, he missed the majority of the pins and got a second turn. Waiting for his ball to return he glanced at the other players. No one was paying attention any longer. He hummed and took his second shot, missing all but two of his remaining pins, and returned to his seat by Primo. 

"Told you, I'm gonna make you all look great," he joked. 

"Maybe you'll catch up later in the game," Primo responded. Noel watched Overly land another annoyingly loud strike and thought he probably would never catch up with these guys. At least Rhea was more average than exceptional, but she still managed higher scores than Noel. On Noel's next turn he similarly flubbed his throws and finished with a measly score. When he got back to his seat Primo was on his phone.

"Do you want to get some food?" Noel asked. His stomach growled like he was talking to it. 

"Sure." Primo stood and announced to the general group, "We're getting food, take our turns for us."

"Yeah, somebody needs to help Hirsch out," Legros laughed. Primo led the way toward the snack stand. 

"What do you want?" he asked. Noel scanned the overhead menu, tapping his chin as he considered his options. 

"Loaded nachos," he said. 

"That'll be $4.75," said the cashier. Primo reached for his wallet and Noel put a staying hand on his wrist. 

"And french fries," he said, still looking at the menu. "Seasoned."

"Okay, seven even."

"And a pretzel." Primo raised his eyebrows. Noel was still looking at the menu. 

"Anything else?" the cashier asked. 

"A pack of skittles and a medium...no, a large Dr. Pepper. What do you want?" he asked Primo, already pulling out his wallet. "To drink, I mean. We can share all the food, but if you don't like Dr. Pepper..." He trailed off when he saw Primo's thunderous look. 

"I can get my own," he said, snapping out an order for more fries and a large Coke to the cashier. He practically threw his card at the cashier to pay for his order. 

"I wasn't implying you couldn't," Noel responded, stepping out of his way so he could continue to be rude to the cashier unhindered. "I thought it would be nice --"

"Just get your stuff," Primo said, grabbing his drink and tray of fries from the cowed food worker. He spun on his heel to march back to the lane and Noel reluctantly followed with his tray of food. His appetite had all but disappeared at this point and he didn't particularly want to sit in front of the rest of Primo's friends with a tray full of food meant to be shared and eat it all on his own. Still, what could he do? Primo drove him there. He couldn't exactly leave, at least not without arousing some suspicion as to how he could get back to his house on the other side of town. When he glanced back at the cashier he gave Noel a sympathetic grimace. Noel followed Primo back to the lane and sat reluctantly next to him, balancing the tray on his knees. Primo was engaged in a conversation with Overly and did not acknowledge his return. 

After knocking down the seven-ten pair he had left from his first throw, Legros plopped down beside Noel and grabbed a french fry. "You got food for everyone? Maybe we should keep you around," he said, tossing the fry into his mouth with a triumphant grin. Noel didn't bother disagreeing with him. Legros munched through half the fries and threw one at Primo to remind him that it was his turn to bowl. 

Even though Primo maintained his technique, he put significantly more force into his throw this time, launching the ball into the pins hard enough that none of them could have survived and he scored the predicted strike. After the victory animation finished on the scoreboard Noel watched his name be highlighted and sighed. He didn't even want to take his turn. At the very least he had a strike from his last turn when someone else had clearly bowled for him. Legros took the tray of food from him and tore off a piece of his pretzel to pop into his mouth. 

Noel threw a gutter ball on his first throw -- the first one of the night, evidently. Primo's friends erupted into laughter as the ball curved too far and fell off the lane, trundling past the untouched pins. Noel's ears burned red. 

"Come on, Primo, go help him out," someone called behind him. "He needs it."

"He's fine," he heard Primo reply, quietly enough that he was fairly sure he wasn't supposed to pick it up. 

"Dude, go. Look, he's just standing there."

"Don't hold us up, Hirsch!" Overly shouted at him. His ball popped up from the dark tunnel and Noel lifted it again, fully intending to just throw another zero so he could get away. Just as he was about to draw back though he felt a hand on his shoulder, halting him. 

"You're doing it wrong," Primo said, stepping up closer to him. "You have to step into it and keep your wrist straight. You don't know how to aim, so don't try to curve it."

"I wasn't trying to curve it," Noel huffed. He almost flinched away when Primo grasped him by the forearm to try and direct his throw. "Don't."

"You're just going to fuck it up again."

"Thanks for the confidence," Noel huffed, pulling his arm away. Primo grabbed his arm again and Noel really thought about smacking his nuts with the bowling ball. "Stop it, I can throw it on my own."

"Just let me help you," Primo snapped back, yanking on his arm. If he had been weaker he imagined the weight of the bowling ball probably would have begun to hurt by now. 

"Fine, you do it!" Noel snapped. He pulled away from Primo and let the ball fall from his fingers. It hit the floor with a thunderous bang and every eye in the alley was on them, glaring at each other over the ball on the floor. It took its cue and started to roll slowly away from them and toward the lane, tripping into the gutter once more. As it made its way toward the end of the lane once again, Noel turned to stomp off. Primo's friends watched him go in stunned silence.

Noel was in the mini-arcade by the time he realized he was shaking from the confrontation. He clenched his hands into fists and closed his eyes, willing himself to calm down. Luckily there were only a couple of middle schoolers in the arcade with him, absorbed in taking out zombies with the brightly colored fake guns attached to the game cabinet. The room was dark but for the lit screens and flashing lights on the games, the walls covered in black carpeting with flying saucers and cartoon planets all over it. It muffled the noise from outside, the crashing bowling balls and pins, the thumping music. It was still there, but tolerable in here. Noel had hardly realized how overwhelmed he was out there. In here, no one was talking to him, no one was looking at him. He was closed in, and it was all he needed to finally relax. 

The door opened as he was entering the fourth level on Pac-Man, letting in the obtrusive sound for a few second until it closed again, sealing the room off. Noel tracked the new arrival as they crossed the room by their quiet footsteps, just off beat from the music in the alley and that coming from his game. The person stopped beside the game cabinet, leaning his shoulder against the case to watch Noel as he concentrated on the game. 

"You missed your turn out there, you know," Primo said quietly. Noel turned Pac-Man into a big white dot to turn the ghosts blue and white and frantic and started chasing after them in earnest.

"No great loss," Noel responded, chowing down on Inky and Blinky in turn. 

"Actually you were definitely losing by a lot," Primo returned. He was joking, Noel realized, but neither laughed. 

"I don't think I like bowling much," Noel said, turning Pac-Man around before the ghosts turned back to normal and started chasing him again. 

"You're just bad at it," Primo responded. "You gonna come back out and play or hole up in here for the rest of the night?"

Noel sighed, finally sparing Primo a glanced as he moved on to the next level. "I'm better at the games in here."

Primo looked away. He had his arms crossed, his shoulder leaned casually against the game case, though he wasn't relaxed. Noel could see it in the straight line of his shoulders, the tapping of his toe against the carpet, his eyes darting from alien to Jupiter to comet to flying saucer on the walls and floor as he avoided Noel's gaze. His shoulder rose as he took in a breath to prepare.

"Look, I need to apologize," he said. Noel could tell it took effort just to get that out so he turned his full attention on him. Pac-Man turned himself inside out as Pinky finally caught up to him and the game ended with dismal digital music. "I was a jerk. I don't take people out -- I mean, I don't do dates like this a lot. Not used to it."

"You're used to girls throwing themselves at you without having put in any effort." Even though Noel was pleased to get an apology he couldn't help the jab. Primo had the decency to look abashed. 

"Yeah," he said. "I guess so."

Silence stretched between them in which the middle schoolers finally decided it was time to go and vacated the arcade, leaving Noel and Primo alone. Primo still wouldn't look at him. 

"Maybe we should call it a night," Noel finally said. "I can call my sister to come pick me up so you can stay here with your friends."

"You don't have to call your sister," Primo responded. "I don't want to be here either. I'll drive you home." He straightened up and gestured for Noel to come with him. They went to the shoe counter and Noel realized that Primo was already wearing his own sneakers again. He must have turned his bowling shoes in before coming to find Noel. He went to say goodbye to his friends and Noel sat on the floor to pull his bowling shoes off and exchange them for his own. By the time he was done Primo was back, holding a large drink in one hand. 

"Legros ate all your food but he doesn't like Dr. Pepper." 

Noel's stomach growled loudly. It was covered by the music. "Thanks."

They left the bowling alley together and got into Primo's car. He took a few moments to search through the music on his phone to find something softer and with a slower tempo than what was playing inside, for which Noel was grateful. Other than the music they rode in silence back across town and through the woods. Noel didn't have to give Primo directions this time. 

When they pulled up to Noel's house he grabbed the door handle, ready to hop out and hurry inside, but Primo caught him by the arm before he could open the door. 

"Tonight didn't go the way I planned," he said, still holding Noel's arm. "Let me make it up to you." He must have caught Noel's apprehensive look because he continued, "I know you probably don't want to, but I'll do better next time."

Noel regarded him silently for a few moments, then sighed and gave in. "Can we do something without your friends being there?" 

"Yeah, we can do something, just the two of us."

"And will you be nicer to the employees wherever we go?'

"What do you mean?"

Noel leveled him with an unimpressed look. "You were a dick to everyone standing behind a counter tonight. Was that not on purpose?" For the second time that night Noel managed to embarrass Primo. 

"Oh. Yeah, I'll...be nicer."

Noel snorted. "That sounded convincing."

Primo huffed. "I will! Jesus, if I had known you would have rules..." He saw Noel's worry written across his face and shook his head. "Kidding. I can joke too. I'll be nicer, I swear."

Noel nodded, his eyes falling to the hand Primo still had resting on his forearm. "Okay. Then, yeah. We should go out again."

"I'll text you," Primo said. He squeezed Noel's arm lightly and let go and Noel shivered in what he hoped was not a noticeable way. 

It was too soon to expect a kiss good night but the pause was pregnant with expectation. Primo was watching him, his sharp eyes locked into Noel's until they darted unmistakably down to Noel's mouth. Didn't that mean...?

"Shit, it's getting late," Primo said suddenly, straightening from where he had leaned in to keep Noel from leaving the car prematurely. The digital readout above the radio said that it was already almost ten. "I've got a curfew to keep, sorry."

"It's okay," Noel said, somewhat surprised that Cyllian Primo, of anyone, would have a curfew. "I'll talk to you later?"

"Yeah, I'll see you at school." 

Noel smiled and climbed out of the car. Primo didn't drive away until he had opened the front door and looked back to watch his sports car swing around and disappear down the driveway and into the trees. 


End file.
